The 2024 matric class scored an amazing 87.3% pass rate, one of the greatest in recent history.

This milestone means that more matric students than ever before will enter the workforce. However, while youth unemployment fell somewhat at the end of last year, the improvements were primarily concentrated in unskilled industries such as construction and commerce.

At the same time, hundreds of thousands of formal sector jobs remain vacant, indicating a mismatch between available skills and market needs.

"The South African education system is clearly struggling to produce matriculants equipped to secure meaningful employment, establish entrepreneurial ventures, or drive sustainable economic growth.

"I believe that, because the traditional system has remained unchanged for far too long, the majority of matriculants lack the essential skills needed to thrive in today’s technology-led world," said the founder of Centennial Schools Sandton," Shaun Fuchs.

Integrating AI technologies into the classroom is critical because they have the potential to shape the future of education, the workforce, and the economy, he added.

These technologies may also assist students with hard topics by explaining and demonstrating concepts, helping them through problem-solving procedures, and providing feedback on tasks.

Here are five critical areas Fuchs believes educators can use the potential of AI to help future-ready pupils by 2025:

Personalised learning: Having platforms that track each student's progress, identify areas for growth, and adapt learning programmes appropriately to guarantee that every student may develop at their own pace while receiving focused professional support.

Social-emotional learning (SEL): This focuses on emotional intelligence, resilience, and interpersonal skills, with the objective of preparing pupils not just intellectually, but also emotionally and socially, for future problems.

Sustainability and the environment: As global sustainability issues grow, environmental and social programmes that promote stewardship, responsible planning, and effective resource management have become increasingly important.

Hybrid learning: Real-time feedback systems and tailored learning paths make hybrid learning available to all students.

This helps to educate students for the hybrid work environment that emerged during the pandemic and will be the norm in the future. At the same time, the potential disadvantages of hybrid and remote work, such as isolation, may be efficiently addressed.

STEAM: Using AI and other developing technologies to make STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) disciplines more accessible, all of which are important yet scarce in the real world.

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